If you saw signs up in public places saying "No
Coloreds", what would you do? See them as relics of a
bygone era, a la US Segregation or South African Apartheid?
Not in Japan, where even today "Japanese Only" signs,
excluding people who look "foreign", may be found
nationwide, thanks to fear and opportunism arising from Japan's
internationalization and economic decline.

JAPANESE ONLY
is the definitive account of the Otaru Onsens Case, where public
bathhouses in Otaru City, Hokkaido, put up "no foreigners
allowed" signs to refuse entry to Russian sailors, and in
the process denied service to Japanese. One of Japan's most
studied postwar court cases on racial discrimination, this case
went all the way to Japan's Supreme Court, and called into
question the willingness of the Japanese judiciary to enforce
Japan's Constitution.

Written by one of the
plaintiffs to the lawsuit, a bilingual naturalized citizen who
has lived in Japan for 25 years, this highly-readable
first-person account chronologically charts the story behind the
case and the surrounding debate in Japanese media between 1999
and 2005. The author uncovers a side of Japanese society
that many Japanese and scholars of Japan would rather not
discuss: How the social determination of "Japanese"
inevitably leads to racism. How Japan, despite
international treaties and even its own constitutional
provisions, remains the only modern, developed country without
any form of a law against racial discrimination, resulting in
situations where foreigners and even Japanese are refused service
at bathhouses, restaurants, stores, apartments, hotels, schools,
even hospitals, simply for looking too "foreign".
How Japan officially denies the existence of racial
discrimination in Japan (as its allegedly homogeneous society by
definition contains no minorities), until the Sapporo District
Court ruled otherwise with Otaru Onsens.

JAPANESE ONLY
also charts the arc of a public debate that reached extremes of
xenophobia: Where government-sponsored fear campaigns
against "foreign crime" and "illegal foreigners"
were used to justify exclusionism. Where outright acts of
discrimination, once dismissed as mere "cultural
misunderstandings", were then used as a means to "protect
Japanese" from "scary, unhygienic, criminal foreigners"
and led to the normalization of racialized hate speech.
Where even resident foreigners turned on themselves, including
Japan Times columnist Gregory Clark's repeated diatribes against
"bathhouse fanatics", and future "My Darling is
a Foreigner" manga star Tony Laszlo's opportunistic use
of activism to promote his own agenda at the expense of the
cause. Where the plaintiffs stay the course despite
enormous public pressure to drop the lawsuit (including death
threats), and do so at great personal risk and sacrifice.
Remaining in print since its first publication in 2003, JAPANESE
ONLY remains a testament to the dark side of race relations in
Japan, and contains a taut story of courage and perseverance in
the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Now for the
first time in ebook format, this Tenth Anniversary Edition in
English offers a new Introduction and Postscript by the author,
updating the reader on what has changed, what work remains to be
done, and how Japan in fact is reverse-engineering itself to
become more insular and xenophobic in the 2010s. Called "a
reasoned and spirited denunciation of national prejudice,
discrimination, and bigotry" (Donald Richie, legendary
Japanologist), "clear, well-paced, balanced and
informative" (Tom Baker, The Daily Yomiuri), "a
personal and fascinating account of how this movement evolved,
its consequences and how it affected those who participated in
it" (Jeff Kingston, The Japan Times), and "the
book of reference on the subject for decades to come and should
be required reading for anyone studying social protest"
(Robert Whiting, author of You've Gotta Have Wa), JAPANESE
ONLY is a must-read for anyone interested in modern Japan's
future direction in the world and its latent attitudes towards
outsiders. More reviews here.
Preview and download from here.

If you saw signs up in public places saying
"No Coloreds", what would you do?
See them as relics of a bygone era, a la US segregationism or
South African apartheid? Not so in Japan, where today "Japanese
Only" signs, excluding people who "look foreign",
are proliferating nationwide--thanks to fear and opportunism
arising from Japan's inevitable internationalization.

As the case transforms from an
international issue into a domestic policy push, he meticulously
charts the obstacles--interpersonal, ideological, journalistic,
governmental, and judicial--which he and his friends encounter in
their quest for justice and equal protection of the law.

Instructive to those interested in improving their lot as
residents of a foreign country, JAPANESE
ONLY is also a non-academic read for
people with even a passing interest in Japan, or in human rights
and social movements in the age of the Internet.

2006 EDITION now includes 2005
Supreme Court decision text and INDEX for your research ease.INDEX
for 2004 edition of "JAPANESE ONLY" is
available
online here

"A
reasoned and spirited denunciation of national prejudice,
discrimination, and bigotry. It's not that the Japanese have all
that much more of it than anyone else, but that they lack an
interface to fight it. This lively accounting will help them find
it."---Donald Richie

"An
important, trailblazing work that will go down in the annals of
civil activist journals. It is, on the one hand, a gripping tale of
one man's pursuit of justice and equal treatment ina foreign land,
and on the o ther, an engaging primer on how to fight city hall in
Japan. The detailed descriptions of how the opaque machinery of
Japanese government bureaucracy and its legal systems work are in
themselves worth the price of admission. Will be the book of
reference on the subject for decades to come and should be required
reading for anyone studying social protest."--Robert Whiting, author, The
Meaning of Ichiro, You've
Gotta have Wa, and Tokyo
Underworld.

"Deftly
capturing the devil of Japanese xenophobia in the details of simply
getting a bath, Debito Arudou combines intellectual honesty, moral
courage, and sheer physical perseverance with a wry sense of humor
to show how difficult it is in Japan to mount and sustain a campaign
to dismantle racially discriminating barriers that would be illegal
and quickly laughed out of court in the US. Arudou's love of the
Japanese people is proven by taking out citizenship, and by a
fluency in writing and speaking the language that would put to shame
most Western 'Japan Experts'. He treats us to a startling expose of
the twisted logic employed by the defenders of discrimination, be
they Japanese or resident foreign Uncle Toms.A
powerful, poignant, and path-breaking docu-narrative."---Ivan Hall, author, Cartels of
the Mind and Bamboozled.

"People
don't hear much about a Civil Rights movement in Japan, because
there are no cops spraying protestors with fire hoses. But race
prejudice does exist, and there are people --- like Arudou Debito
--- who have continued to raise objections to it, and harry the
perpetrators, with admirable tenacity and courage. After society
changes for the better, the agents of that change are promptly
forgotten. Perhaps a decade or so from now, the events in this book
will be remembered merely as a curiosity; or perhaps not. But
whether his efforts succeed or fail, no one can fault Mr. Arudou for
trying to convince people of the evils of discrimination. Here, in
his own words, he tells why it matters; and one cannot help but be
moved by them."---Mark Schreiber,
Japan Times columnist and author, The Dark
Side: Infamous Japanese Crimes and Criminals.

"Why
do I like this book so much?
Japanese Only is
more than an account of a campaign.... Along the way he reproduces
many of the arguments and counter arguments that come up in
discussion (e.g. Don't businesses have the right to refuse obnoxious
customers?) for the reader to mull. He describes some of the
workings of local government and the courts in Japan. The
experiences he relates and the lessons he learned on dealing with
the media alone are, for any social activist, worth the cover price.
... It is almost like a college course on human rights and social
activism, delivered by an avuncular professor... though, unlike most
college courses, [you get] a strong feeling of optimism about the
future of (t)his country, Japan..."---
Chris Pitts, Coordinator,
Amnesty International Group 78, Tokyo, Japan (click
here to read entire review)

"...[T]his
is why JAPANESE ONLY is so important. In the midst of all the
overblown rhetoric about foreign workers, whether it be from
woolly-headed academics, plotting technocrats, major corporations
looking only at the bottom line, well-meaning NGOs, or fascist
politicians, Arudou's battle against the Otaru onsens shows us real
Japanese struggling with real, practical issues of integration,
assimulation, and human rights... In the process, Arudou reveals
some ingrained attitudes that no government white paper, blue-ribbon
panel of experts, or cadre of nervously smiling bureaucrats will be
able to easily ignore. Twenty years from now, JAPANESE ONLY may well
be one of the seminal studies on just how Japan did, or did not,
deal with the integration of foreigners into its society."--Eric
Johnston, Deputy Editor, The Japan Times. (read
entire review)

"...Not
only is JAPANESE ONLY clear, well-paced, balanced and informative,
but the scrapbook style lends the described events a riveting sense
of immediacy. Through it all, the author pulls no punches, but he
refrains from the rants and tirades that must have been sorely
tempting at times... Arudou's book is an excellent summary of events
so far, and provides a lot of background information that may
startle readers outside this country... Arudou's study of history
has taught him "that rights--any rights--are rarely, if ever,
granted unilaterally. People must fight for them. So it is not only
our option, but our obligation as residents of Japan, to do
something."--Tom Baker, Daily
Yomiuri Book Review, January 16, 2005. (read
entire review)

Debito
Arudou... decided that confronting discrimination was important for
his family, other foreigners and Japanese society. After reading
this excellent account of his struggle against prejudice and racial
discrimination, I think we are fortunate he did so... Readers get a
personal and fascinating account of how this movement evolved, its
consequences and how it affected those who participated in it. It is
a very readable story that ranges from diary-like entries, to
extensive quotes from the media, e-mails to his Internet site and
court rulings."--Jeff
Kingston, Japan Times Book Review, January 30, 2005 (read
entire review)

"Whatever
you may think about Debito as a person, [the Otaru Onsens Case] is a
legacy, one to be proud of--and one which his book discusses more
than adequately".--Dr Bern
Mulvey, University of Idaho, and fellow member of the team which
battled onsen discrimination in Japan. April 26, 2005 (read
entire review)

"...worth
a read for anyone anyone who has encountered discrimination in
Japan, as it offers hope that things are changing for the
better--with the help of people like Arudou, who are willing to
stand up for what is right."--Patrick
Rial, part of a mixed review in Japanzine,
December 2005 (read
entire review)

"Enlightening
and entertaining reading for any American interested in current
Japanese affairs (since it is written from an American(-ish)
viewpoint)"--Tom Stratton, student,
University of Chicago, Physics Department (Dec 21, 2004)

"Arudo
manages to rid himself of both the preconceptions and hackneyed
cliches that pervades so much of writing on Japan, ...avoiding the
bitter cynicism of outright Japan-bashing. In short, Arudo neither
lionizes Japan nor does he write it off, and along the way shows the
reader that tenacity, courage and self-belief are worthy opponents
of bureacracy, prejudice and artificial social barriers..."
--Steve King, ELT Consultant, Longman ELT Osaka Office (read
entire comment)

"Single-minded,
fiercely determined, fighting the good fight. Melodramatic maybe,
but I think it sums up the struggle between Debito (and supporters)
against the "Japanese Only" onsens and the wider issue of
anti-foreigner discrimination in Japan, a country which many (myself
included) love. I would like to recommend this book wholeheartedly
for Japanese and non-Japanese alike and I fully support Debito in
his efforts to improve an area of Japan's society which it should,
frankly, be more ashamed of."
--Richard Mort, of www.nativechecker.com(Feb 19, 2005)

"'Japanese
Only' is a great read. Your presentation and style make for an
instructive, step-by-step guide to social awareness and protest for
foreigners in Japan. Having dealt with many of the same
situations you and Issho Kikaku did in my 5 years in Japan, I could
wholly empathize with your struggles. At the time (1991-1996)
I felt rather isolated in those moments, and having the comraderie
of such a group of like-minded individuals would have been
reassuring. " --Scott Mund of
Muskegon, Michigan USA, former Instructor, Yokohama City University
(1994-1996), two time JET Program participant (1991-1992 &
2003-2004), and graduate student at The University of Michigan,
Center for Japanese Studies (1993-1994). (March 18, 2006)

"I just finished reading your book,
Japanese Only, and I the only thing I can say right now is that I
was profoundly affected. The choice to sacrifice and endure
years of often thankless hardship for the sake of human rights
really is not a choice at all. Clearly, it is a
calling." --Ben Snyder, formerly of Kanda Gaigo University,
and the University of Rochester. (July 5, 2006).

NEWS
ON "JAPANESE ONLY"

"JAPANESE
ONLY" has its its world premiere at Caravan
Books, Ikebukuro, Tokyo. Around forty people turn out, lead a
lively discussion, and buy books! (Oct
31, 2004)

Stores around
Sapporo stock "JAPANESE ONLY" (New Day Books, Kinokuniya,
Sanseidou, Asahiya Shoten), and have sold out of it in a few places
around town and in Osaka (Maruzen and Kinokuniya). Kinokuniya
Sapporo even put it next to Michael Moore and above Harry Potter!
(see above photo above of Kinokuniya
bookshelf taken by my keitai Nov 26, 2004).
Quite an honor!

"JAPANESE
ONLY" spotted on sale in TOWER
RECORDS SHIBUYAand SHIN-CHITOSE AIRPORT,
Hokkaido. I might sound obsessive, but I have had trouble getting
the book on store shelves for the oddest excuses. Some claim that
foreign-book distributor Yohan won't let them stock it (yeah,
right). Foreign bookshops in Haneda Airport said they lack shelf
space. Even Tsutaya Books in Roppongi Hills begged off, saying it
doesn't fit their overall "arty lifestyle" image. Thus I
consider any bookstore stocking it to be a minor miracle. So if
you're in Tokyo, go buy the book at TOWER
RECORDS SHIBUYA 7F, where as of 2006 I
know they have it in stock (see keitai photo at right, next to Tony
Laszlo), in English and Japanese. Elsewhere in Japan, Kinokuniya and
Maruzen have been reasonably reliable--Kinokuniya more so.
Amazon.co.jp less so. (Dec 1-10, 2004,
reconfirmed Feb 2006)

New updated 2006
Version of "JAPANESE ONLY" (i.e. the second edition)
will include the above index, and details of the March 2005 Supreme
Court Decision and the new
lawsuit against the national government. On sale now.
(March 1, 2006)

While I'm at it: If you think your local
foreign-books store should stock JAPANESE ONLY, could you please ask
the management to order a few extra copies? People have often been
buying the Japanese and English versions as a set (for their Japanese
friends or spouse), so perhaps suggest they put them together in the
foreign books (yousho) section? I am visiting as many bookstores
as possible to promote the book myself, but of course can't get
everywhere. If you could help out, thanks: download
some bilingual order forms here. All you have to do is give them
the form and they will fax it to my publisher at their leisure.
Reassure them if necessary that any books left unsold can be returned
to the publisher at no cost to the bookstore. Thanks!

INTERNATIONAL
(i.e. outside of Japan)You have basically one
option:(1) Order
via internet booksellerAmazon.co.jp(Amazon Japan has the book blurb in Japanese, but
pay no attention. As entitled, it is the English version, and you can
still use the shopping cart and make your purchase in English.) Bulk
orders (i.e. five or more copies), or if you are an overseas academic
institution ordering this as a class textbook, please contact Akashi
Shoten's Eigyoubu at eigyo@akashi.co.jpClick
on the buttons below to place and view your order (of up to five
copies):